The Other School of Magic
by FowlPlay
Summary: Negi and a few of his gang go to Hogwarts in order to secure the support of Albus Dumbledore for their plan to terraform Mars. Albus agrees readily, but insists that they stay for a few days to enjoy themselves.  And that's where the trouble starts.
1. Chapter 1

A small note: Italics=Japanese

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><p>August 26, 2003<br>Friday 5:14 PM  
>Above London Heathrow Airport<p>

"Hello everyone, this is your captain speaking. We are about to land at the London Heathrow Airport in around 10 minutes; please set your watches to the current time of 5:14 PM."

The fluorescent lights of the airplane cabin dimmed, then went to full power. The lights flashed once again, signaling eminent descent, and more than likely attempting to wake up the rest of the still sleeping passengers.

At row 3's aisle seat, the redheaded girl with twin bell tails awoke, and turning to her left, whispered, "_Hey, Negi-kun, do you think you could do that language spell on me soon? I'm not too keen on being stuck in England without knowing English."_

"_Sure, Asuna-san, right after we land, alright?"_ he replied smiling, glancing from her back to the thick tome of British literature on his lap.

Asuna looked at it in interest, but to her rather lacking grasp of the English language, the words appeared as if they were cryptograms.

"Hogwarts: A History," Fate, who was previously leaning on his arm and staring out of the window, suddenly supplied.

"_Oh, that sounds…really interesting,"_ she responded, interest dropping to a low. "_Hey, wait, how come you can read it, Fate? Did you learn English in your free time?" _ With nothing to do and no one else to talk to, Asuna had nothing better to do than to engage in side conversation with an enemy now turned ally.

Sighing, the white haired boy reminded her of his incredibly useful ability_. "I installed it, Kagurazaka Asuna. Surely you remember that I mentioned that as an artificially created entity, I do not operate on the same principles as a regular human does?"_

"_Ah yeah, you did. But isn't that kind of like cheating, since now you're the English teacher without even having to study?"_

"_By that logic, Negi-kun would also be cheating with his superior intellect, since he can obviously memorize faster than the average student,"_ Fate rebutted.

The lights blinked again, this time was accompanied by the captain reminding everyone to fasten their seatbelts, and the body of the plane began to slope downwards.

Negi looked up, and glancing at his watch, announced, _"It looks like we'll be able to take the London subway system to King's Cross and get onto the Hogwarts Express on time; we'll need to hurry though, international customs can sometimes take a long time. Heathrow is the busiest airport, after all."_ He started to pack his book back into his small carry-on backpack.

Asuna began to do the same with her belongings, and after zipping up her small bag, resumed the same complaints she had voiced when Ayaka had been unable to provide the three with a ride on her private jet.

Because travel by Portkey was deemed impossible, or at the very least extremely dangerous, with her finicky Magic Cancel, travel by mundane airplanes was required. However, private jets were also deemed out of the question because for some reason, Hogwarts was apparently reachable only by a single train, and the airport with easiest access to King's Cross Train Station, Heathrow, was currently undergoing renovations at its private mini-terminals. More irritatingly, Ayaka herself would be able to arrive by her private plane, as she was flying to a different airport the next morning along with Takamichi, Kotaro, and Kurt Godel.

As representatives of their country and goals, Negi and Asuna would obviously be expected to arrive first as the vanguard, so to speak. Fate had insisted on coming as well, and when Fate had announced his plans, of course the dog eared boy had to go too.

Another thing to worry about was whether or not Asuna would be able to pass through Platform 9 ¾, but apparently there would be Hogwarts staff on hand to take her by something called a threstral if that happened.

The plane completed its gradual descent, hit the tarmac, and after a few moments of no movement, started to taxi towards Terminal 3, otherwise known as The Oceanic Terminal. It continued towards Gate 24, and miraculously bypassing the unspoken rule of airplane flight timetables, was able to dock and release its passengers before the scheduled arrival time.

"_Finally!"_ exclaimed Asuna once she was out of customs, _"It's good to be out of those cramped lines!" _Turning to Negi, she once again requested the translation spell.

Acquiescing, the redheaded boy held her hand and intoned, _**"Mutuum intellectum verborum"**_, in a shushed voice to avoid curious glances from passerby.

"There, that's it, Asuna-san. Can you understand me right now? Your Magic Cancel shouldn't affect it, since the magic is uncomplicated and harmless," he said, switching to English.

"Whoa, it actually works!"

"Of course it works, Kagurazaka," Fate deadpanned. "I suggest that we get on going; the Hogwarts Express leaves in exactly 41 minutes. According to my calculations-"

"All right, all right, let's go then!" She started, and then realized that she didn't know the directions. "Err...Negi, which way do we go?"

Negi took off in a particular direction, and the two followed, while he explained, "We need to go down, there should be a tunnel or something leading to the Tube." Following the signs, he led them to a ticker, where they purchased tickets to King's Cross Station and proceeded to the platform.

Hurrying onto the subway train, the trio arrived at King's Cross with 20 some minutes to spare, and walked quickly, but stealthily, towards Platform 9 ¾'s imposing brick barrier, with Asuna praying that her Magic Cancel wouldn't come into effect. It didn't.

She, Negi, and Fate passed through the wall without suddenly getting trapped in solid concrete. Out on the other side, the platform was really quite empty. The students had been sent off this morning, so the only other people on the platform were a few students who had apparently missed the train, and the one staff member sent by Hogwarts to serve as a guardian and escort.

Negi waved at the man, and walked up to him with a friendly smile, probably not even noticing that the man was scowling at him.

"Hello, Mr. Severus Snape, correct?" the boy asked for confirmation. "I was told that you would be the one to meet us at King's Cross."

"That I am," Snape replied curtly. He pointed to the steaming train. "Well, feel free to help yourselves onto the Express, it will be leaving in 10 minutes."

Turning, he strode away from the group to the train, his cloak billowing dramatically. Then, as if remembering something, he turned back, and addressing the trio in a sardonic voice, said, "And let me prematurely welcome you to Hogwarts."

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><p>Well, that's it for the first chapter. Please review if you liked it, or if there are any horribad grammatical or spelling mistakes.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

The Flying Frog-

"Why was the Hogwarts Express already there when Negi's group showed up if it had left in the morning with the regular students?"

The train leaves at 11:00 AM and arrives sometime in the early evening (~5:00 PM). I reason that there must be some sort of apparition/teleportation spell that could transport it back, if needed urgently, to its starting place at King's Cross. Since Negi's group showed up at ~7:30PM, there shouldn't be any time scheduling problems.

"What year is it for the HP-verse?"

5th year. I have, however, moved up HP's timeline up several years and one week; events that should have taken place in Sept. 1, 1995 are now happening in Aug. 26, 2003 to accommodate MSN's timeline.

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><p>August 26, 2009<br>Friday 7:47 PM  
>Onboard the Hogwarts Express<p>

Entering one of the many empty compartments, the three set their respective belongings down on luggage racks and made themselves comfortable upon the seats, with Asuna on one side, facing the other two boys. Negi once again took out his book, and resumed perusing its pages.

Asuna, never one to stay quiet, was the first to break the silence, asking, "Negi, isn't this train magical? Shouldn't we be worried about, y'know, it breaking? I'm sitting right on it."

Remembering what had happened several times with flying brooms, Negi quickly reassured her, explaining, "I've heard that the train itself isn't really magical, just that the method of propulsion is by magic. Since you aren't touching the engine or any of the moving parts, there shouldn't be any trouble. Moreover, it seems that Magic Cancel often doesn't work against non-offensive or ambient magic anyways."

"That's good. Wouldn't want the magic school to collapse just because I stepped inside, eh? Oh, and do you mind explaining why we have to go directly to Hogwarts to meet and get the Headmaster's support? Wouldn't using Ayaka's artifact be much more convenient?"

"Ah, that's because-"

"Because Hogwarts has a plethora of wards and barriers designed to prevent unauthorized entry, even to friendly forces," supplied Fate. "There is no way to predict whether or not the artifact would work in such conditions."

Asuna raised her eyebrows at this sudden display of interest. "And you know this information because?"

"Kosmo Entelekheia," came the curt reply.

"Oh." Silence ensued, but only for a few seconds, as this was when a lady pushing a cart laden with food suddenly entered the compartment.

The plump woman spoke up, asking if they wished to purchase anything on the pushcart. The overburdened cart displayed a variety of sweet items (apparently made by a company called Honeydukes) that were completely foreign to Asuna, whose confusion could be clearly seen on her face. After all, most people would not expect a candy cart to be selling actual Jelly Slugs, or Bertie Bott's EVERY Flavored Jelly Beans, and…were those Acid Pops really synthesized from acid?

Taking the initiative, Negi cheerily ordered a few chocolate frogs and licorice wands for himself and the other two occupants of the compartment, bypassing the odder selections of sweets.

Then, Fate asked for a cup of hot coffee, no decaf. The lady apologized, and informed him that the Express didn't have any at the moment, and that even if it did, coffee was unfortunately not allowed to be served to minors. The train was usually full of excited children, after all, and there was no need to turn that into overexcited children on caffeine.

Fate frowned, and for a moment, Asuna feared for the poor woman's life.

However, this feeling was quickly alleviated when he reached over into his small messenger bag and pulled out a can of coffee that he had apparently purchased during on the airplane. He opened it, and began to sip the liquid with an air of no concern.

Asuna and Negi collectively sweat dropped; what was the point of asking for coffee when he already had some on hand?

As the situation was defused, the candy cart lady exited the area, kindly reminding them that they could call down the corridor if they needed anything else.

Negi coughed, and spoke up again. "Anyways, shall I give a brief overview of the teachers and the Headmaster for you guys?"

"You should, I myself do not need to hear it, but I doubt the Princess has studied up on this extremely important trip beforehand."

"Hey now!" she interjected. Then, sighing, "Alright, Negi, go on. I guess I should at least know the names of the people I'm going to meet and what our schedule is."

Lauching into his lecture, Negi decided to start with information about Hogwarts itself and brief summary of their current plans.

"Well, as you know, we are currently headed for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It teaches students from age 11 to 18, for a total of 7 years. The core curriculum is composed of 8 subjects, including Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Defense against the Dark Arts. We will probably be introduced to the teachers later today, and you've already met Professor Snape, who I think is the Potions Master. Students are separated according to houses-"

"Houses?" interrupted Asuna.

"There is a magical hat that sorts them into a House based on their base personalities or ideals," continued Negi. "The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

"Anyways, the headmaster is Albus Dumbledore, who wields tremendous power in the politics of magical England. We are planning to meet him tomorrow afternoon after Ayaka-san and the others have arrived to attempt to persuade him to support our plan to terraform Mars."

"Hmm, speaking of which, when are they arriving again? Early afternoon, right? So are we just going to hang out at the school waiting for them?"

"Um, yes, basically," answered Negi.

"I see. Guess I'll just look around and explore the castle then."

As she chatted, Asuna opened one of the Chocolate Frog wrappers, and was shocked to find that it was magically animated, or at least until she caught and touched it. The frog ceased its jumping and became a regular, non-magical, mundane bar of chocolate, but reverted back to an amphibian shape and jumped away after she put it down.

Fate, meanwhile, snatched up the card that had fluttered to the ground, and after a moment of appraisal, put it back down on the table, smirking. It portrayed Fulbert the Fearful, who, according to the card's backside, had apparently been too "cowardly to even leave his own house" and died "when his roof caved in" on him.

Asuna wasn't sure whether to laugh at or feel bad for him.

During this time, Negi had taken out his pactio card with Ayaka and was currently engaging in conversation with her, confirming the second entourage's arrival time and briefly summarizing tomorrow's agenda. Satisfied with the situation on her end, he ended the telepathic conversation.

Just as he desummoned the card, the compartment doors were abruptly opened, revealing Snape saying, "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in about 4 and a half hours, I suggest that your group sleep for a few; the distance between the train stop and Hogwarts itself is rather far, even on the thestral carriages. I will be back in around 3 hours to remind you to prepare to exit the train."

Then, just as abruptly as he had appeared, he turn around, closed the doors and left.

Negi and Asuna decided to take the man's advice, but Fate, already nursing a second can of coffee, opted to stay awake and requested Negi's copy of Hogwarts: A History to keep him company.

True to his word, Snape poked his head inside the compartment after three or so hours, informing them ready for disembarkment and to change their muggle clothing to wizarding ones, as school rules applied even to visitors.

Fate, who had remained awake, had already changed before Snape had entered, leaving only the redheads in need of new clothing. Asuna had stored various types of wizarding clothing into her pactio card beforehand, and so was able to swap her shirt and pants for black robes within seconds.

This left Negi, who departed for the bathroom with his change of clothes in hand. He returned within a few minutes, retrieving his book and repacking it inside his backpack. Asuna stuffed the remaining Chocolate Frogs into her bag as well, deciding that even though they looked and behaved oddly, they did taste rather wonderful.

August 27, 2003  
>Saturday 1:21 AM<br>Hogsmeade Station

Snape led the way from Hogsmeade Station's exit to a single carriage harnessed to two thestrals. Turning to the visitors, he informed them, "It's traditional for most students to take carriages up the castle gates; I will apparate there and await your arrival." With a small crack, he disappeared.

Asuna, who was rather startled by Snape's sudden dissapparition, voiced her question after they boarded the carriage and seated themselves upon the plush seats, asking Negi, "I assume Apparition is some type of teleportational magic? Why can't you do that instead of taking the bus or train?"

Negi replied rather sheepishly, "You need a license to do it, and in Britain you have to be at least 17. Japan's age requirement is even higher."

"Also, there's much dispute over international usage of Apparition, and as everyone knows, the longer the distance, the harder it is to apparate successfully," came in Fate.

"Haha, everyone, huh?" Asuna replied sarcastically.

As the carriage neared Hogwarts' iron wrought gates, Professor Snape's silhouette came into view, and after it had slowed to a halt, Negi, Asuna, and Fate descended from the carriage. They were greeted by the sight of the teacher manipulating various invisible seals ingrained directly into the metal. After Snape finished opening the gate, the four quickly made for the entrance of the castle. It was, after all, pitch dark and bitterly cold in the open.

However, before they could actually enter Hogwarts, Snape suddenly blocked the trio's path towards the front doors.

"I'm sure that you're all privy to the fact that this school can never keep a permanent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," he stated, "And due to this, the usual teaching abilities of these yearly replaced teachers are…rather low, if you ask me.". With a look of distaste on his face, he continued, "But this year's Umbridge is even worse than that golden boy Lockhart. Springfield, Averruncus, you would do well not to inform her of your magical specialties."

Negi, puzzled, asked, "Are you referring to lighting, wind, and earth type attack spells? Does he have a grudge against my type of magic?"

"She, not he. And no, Umbridge does not hate those spells, but rather the fact that muggles, through hard work and effort, can perform them. Even though your feats of magic far surpass those performable by a regular human, she will still regard you in a bad light."

Then turning to Asuna, who was looking rather perturbed by this Umbridge's apparent bias against regular people, Snape said, "And as for you, who cannot perform regular magic at all, I would expect her to treat you as a lower class citizen, even if you are royalty."

Finishing his lecture, Snape proceeded to open the oaken doors to reveal the Great Hall, darkened and empty in the late night, and declared, "Well then, I sincerely hope that you enjoy your stay at Hogwarts."

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><p>Welp, that's it for the second chapter. Once again, if you spot ANY mistakes, please tell me and I will fix them.<p>

Also-would you guys prefer for the MSN characters to be sorted into House housing (haha), or stay in their own private lodgings?


	3. Chapter 3

The Flying Frog-

"Why was Snape able to apparate ahead of Negi and Co.? Isn't apparition inside Hogwarts impossible?"

I've always assumed that the anti-apparition ward only stretches to the boundaries of the castle, and outside of its perimeter, has no effect. Otherwise, how could the Death Eaters have arrived so quickly to attack Hogwarts in the 6th and 7th books? Since Snape is apparating before the gate, the wards shouldn't affect him.

Zer0light-

"Asuna's magic cancel shouldn't have any effect on the chocolate frog since it's not harmful, right?"

Logically, this is correct. However, it has been shown many times that MC sometimes works on things that aren't directly harmful, ex. whenever Asuna sits on a broom, and sometimes doesn't work on harmful things, ex. when Fate forcefully restored her memories. Anyhow, the scene was meant as filler/comedy, so let's just leave it at that, shall we? *Sweatdrop*

"Why haven't you explained the difference between HP and MSN magic? Also, Negi should be much more powerful than any of the HP wizards/witches!"

True, the MSN-verse's magic is far more advanced and powerful than HP-verse's, which is instead easier to learn and does not require any sacrifice of mana. Another difference is how bloodlines and heritage play a part in magical ability. Of course, in HP-verse, there's no obvious advantage in being pure-blooded or muggle-born in terms of talent, but in the MSN-verse, we can clearly see that Negi and Konoka benefit from their parentage-their mana levels are off the charts, and this is the core reason why Negi was able to overpower Godel.

However, I've never been a fan of incredibly unfair power-level competitions, so don't expect any outright battles showcasing how awesome Negi is compared to Dumbledore and Voldemort. Moreso, Negi and co. are basically on a diplomatic mission, so there's no real reason for them to fight anyone, right? (Not that I'm secretly toying with the idea of Fate basilisking Draco and leaving him in the trophy room for a few hours.)

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><p>August 27, 2003<br>Saturday 1:43 AM  
>Inside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry<p>

As Snape led the trio further into the corridors of the castle, he explained to them that because their group would probably be sorted and placed into House dorms later at dinner, the rooms that they were currently heading to would be temporary. Dumbledore had decided that it would be best if they experienced their weekend at Hogwarts as students. Of course, the two adults, Takamichi and Godel, wouldn't have to do such a thing.

After this, the four continued through several halls and up a staircase, and after passing a large painting of apples in a ceramic bowl*, arrived at a metal door. Snape stepped forward, inserting a key into the lock, and as the door swung open, turned towards the three children with a, "Well, there you are."

Motioning towards the inside of the room, Snape also added that their luggage from Japan, which had been conveniently flooed in from Japan, were already in their respective bedrooms.

Thanking him for bringing them to their lodgings, Negi and Asuna entered the room after Fate. Or rather, not a room, but more like a small suite. It contained a bathroom, three small bedrooms, and the common room that they were currently standing in, which included a small fireplace, a sofa, and a coffee table.

While they readied for bed, Asuna peered out the main window overlooking a rather forbidding looking forest. For a moment, she thought that she had seen the outline of some kind of horselike creature. Then again, she thought, it could have been her imagination. It was very dark, after all, and Hogwarts didn't seem to have any kind of lighting on its grounds.

Turning to Negi, was had changed into nightclothes, she asked, "Negi, are there magical horses or something in the forest down there?"

"Oh, you mean the Forbidden Forest?" Negi came over to the window, and looked down. "Well, I don't see anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were centaurs in it. Oh, and those thestrals that pulled our carriage today probably live in it too."

"Centaurs, huh," Asuna mused, "I didn't see any over at Mundus Magicus. D'you think we could go down there sometime and see them? I heard that they're pretty smart."

"Er, Asuna, centaurs value their privacy against humans, so most of them don't appreciate people trying to meet them. But they're nicer to children, so I guess that we could take a trip into the forest if we have time," he conceded. "Anyways, shall we get to sleep now? Tomorrow, well, today, is going to be a very eventful day."

August 27, 2003  
>Saturday 7:16 AM<br>Inside the Suite

Yawning, Asuna walked into the small common room and was surprised to see that someone had prepared breakfast for them. Displayed upon the coffee table were plates of fresh made toast, bacon, and other stereotypically British fare.

Another miniature table had been pushed next to it, and contained plates of various sushi. It seemed that whoever had cooked breakfast had tried to make the visitors feel more at home, but unfortunately operated under the assumption that Japanese people ate sushi and sashimi for all three meals of the day.

Negi, who had already helped himself to a piece of toast and a cup of black tea, looked up at Asuna and greeted her saying, "Good morning Asuna! So, have you thought about what you're going to do this morning?"

"Well, we have until basically after lunch until Ayaka and the rest arrive, right? What are you planning to do?"

Pausing, Negi thought for a moment, and replied, "I think I'm going to check out Professor Umbridge's class. She doesn't seem like a very good person to be around; I can't imagine who would hire her to be a teacher."

"Yeah, no kidding, from what Professor Snape told us, isn't she basically prejudiced against people who can't do magic or something?" added Asuna.

Fate, emerging from his room, answered, "No doubt. I've just tried to look up information regarding her on the UK version of Mahounet, but then I remembered that most wizards and witches cannot operate electronics. There is almost nothing on her."

Spying a coffee pitcher, Fate quickly seated himself on the sofa and poured himself a cup. Then, gazing at Negi, who was drinking tea, snorted condescendingly.

Asuna groaned, oh God, please, not again, she thought. But to her anguish, Negi had already turned towards Fate, frowning.

"Fate, are you trying to pick a fight or something?" he challenged. "Let me remind you that tea with milk is a perfectly respectable drink."

Fate agreed with, "Yes, a perfectly respectable drink for an English _gentleman_ like yourself, hm? Then again, that doesn't mean much, since Englishmen have very little good taste to begin with."

"What? You're the one with no taste, Fate," Negi rebutted with an angry expression on his face. "Coffee doesn't even taste good, not to mention how many people have actually gotten hospitalized and killed by caffeine overdosage."

"Ah, but you neglect the beneficial effects of coffee," countered Fate, "Human studies have shown that consuming 3 cups of coffee a day can reduce the possibility of-"

"All right, you two, cut it out!" burst in Asuna. "I thought we were talking about what we were going to do this morning and that Umbridge lady, not vigorously debating whether coffee and tea were better than each other."

Negi sighed, and shook his head, apologizing, "Ah, sorry about that. So, like I said, I'm going to Umbridge's double Defense Against the Dark Arts class and then plan to meet with the rest of our group after lunch. Do you two want to come along to Umbridge's class as well?"

"That sounds alright with me, although I'm not too keen on meeting her," replied Asuna shrugging.

"I'll come with you," Fate answered, "but I doubt that she will welcome the intrusion into her class."

Negi nodded uneasily. "Well, the class starts at 8:30 AM, so we'd better head out now." He rose from the couch to leave, but then stopped and groaned. "I suppose none of us actually knows where her classroom is?"

"Nope," the two answered in unison.

"We can just ask one of the students then," decided Negi as he opened the door.

They looked for any stray students passing by, but after finding none, Negi led the other two towards the Great Hall, where the majority of the student body was receiving class schedules from their Head of House and finishing breakfast. He looked around and stopped a trio of Gryffindor students who had begun to walk, presumably, to their first classes.

Smiling, Negi asked, "Excuse me, but do you three know where to find Professor Umbridge's classroom?"

Asuna, who ran to catch up, saw the only girl of the group nod and point towards a particular corridor while giving a few verbal instructions. The two other boys stared at Negi and Asuna, whom they had never seen nor met before.

"So, are you guys transfer students or something?" questioned one, red haired and freckled.

Negi shook his head. "No, we're only staying at Hogwarts for this weekend. I suppose that you could call us temporary students though, since we'll be sorted into Houses this evening." Then, remembering that he hadn't introduced himself, "Ah, my name is Negi Springfield. This is Asuna Kagurazaka, and over there is...hmm, where did Fate go?"

The ginger haired male pointed at a small disturbance at one of the tables. "Is he the guy helping himself to coffee down at the Slytherin table? Blimey, his hair is pretty weird. Oh, and I'm Ron Weasley, by the way."

Asuna facepalmed, and went to retrieve Fate (who was still stubbornly holding onto a coffee cup) back to Negi's side.

The remaining two of the Golden Trio decided to introduce themselves as well, starting with Hermione, "It's nice to meet you, I'm Hermione Granger," and ending with Harry, who was only able to utter a few syllables until Fate interrupted him with a deadpan expression. "Yes, I know, everyone knows, you're Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, correct?"

Harry, who had only this morning been treated like a madman by Seamus, scowled darkly and returned, "And what about it? Going to tell me that I'm crazy for believing in Voldemort's return?"

"Why would I deem you mad for believing that? The chances that the revival of Voldemort took place and suceeded are rather high," Fate answered. He was, however, slightly nonplussed by how the boy had automatically assumed an offensive stance.

"The _chances_? Voldemort isn't_ probably_ alive, let me tell you, it's-"

"Harry!" reproached Hermione. "He hasn't said anything against you at all."

Harry sighed and said, "Look, I'm really sorry, it's just that lately, a lot of misinformation and ill intentioned rumors have been going around the wizarding community about me and the headmaster."

"They have?" Negi looked interested.

"Yeah, oh right, you guys aren't from England, so you wouldn't really know, I guess."

"Err, I'm actually from Wales," Negi helpfully supplied. "Well, I live in Japan right now, and I'm busy with an important project, so I guess I have been a bit out of touch recently."

"Wait, Japan?" asked Ron. "So I guess you guys are from that Mahouto-something** magic school?"

Asuna shook her head. "No, we're from Mahora. It's not really a magic school, more like there's a higher concentration of mages there who live together with muggles. Negi here graduated from Meridiana Academy. At the top of his class, at that!"

Harry and Ron looked impressed at such an accomplishment, while Hermione's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "You graduated Merdiana Academy as the valedictorian? But you look 12 at the very oldest, and their classes go up to university level!"

"Well, I, um, I guess I'm a bit smart?" Negi floundered around for a modest answer.

"He is a genius. A stupidly idealistic one, at that," came Fate, who had just finished his coffee in record speed.

Asuna, looking at her watch, changed the subject saying, "Hey, we'd better start heading to that Umbridge's class now, Negi, Fate. We've ten minutes left to get there."

Harry, curious, asked, "Why do you guys want to go to her class anyways? I bet that you don't actually have to go to any classes, even as temporary students. Hermione here has a very low opinion of her."

"Yes, and for good reason; I can't believe that the Ministry of Magic actually planted their own handpicked teacher into Hogwarts. I think that she's here to spy on the school and mold it into whatever the Ministry wants."

Negi nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose this is connected with the issue of Harry and Albus Dumbledore's integrity becoming besmirched?"

"It probably, no, most certainly is," answered Hermione frowning.

"I see, I'll keep it in mind. And thank you for the directions!" The three visitors left for Defense Against the Dark Arts, leaving the Golden Trio alone among themselves once again.

"They seemed like good people," Ron mused while on the way to History of Magic, "But that Fate guy, kind of stoic, don't you think? And what was up with him and coffee? And why'd he get if from the Slytherin table? Hey, maybe-"

Hermione quickly shut down the conspiracy theory by saying, "Ron, the Slytherin table was closest to the hallway they came in from."

"Oh. Well, I guess that works too."

Harry walked along silently, mulling over the new acquaintances. Like Ron had said, they did seem to be decent people. But what had they come to Hogwarts for? It couldn't be for fun; he doubted that Hogwarts would allow foreign students in for something like field trips. Turning to Hermione and Ron, he asked, "What do you guys think they were here for?"

Ron shrugged, emitting a generic "Beats me" response.

"That's a good question," Hermione thought out loud, "It's not like Negi would need any more training, and he wouldn't have use for wizarding magic anyways."

"Wait, are you saying that he uses a different kind of magic?" Ron looked surprised.

"Meridiana produces mages, not wizards," Hermione replied.

"Oh."

The three continued silently for a little longer, but to Harry and Ron's disappointment, was broken by Hermione wondering, "Do you two think that they'd join S.P.E.W. if I asked them enough times? We are in need of members, after all!"

* * *

><p>Random Notes:<p>

*The Fat Lady occasionally goes to this painting on midnight trips. Why? To eat apples, obviously. It is hung on the second floor of Hogwarts castle.

**Ron is referring to Mahoutokoro, a Japanese school of magic.

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><p>And the third chapter is over! Thanks for all of the reviews so far, and like I said, please report anything you find wrong with my logic, spelling, or grammar.<p>

Lastly-It appears that Negi and co. will be sorted after all. Which house should Fate and Ayaka (yes, I know, a muggle) be in?


	4. Chapter 4

BakaUsagi-san-

"Will you add anymore characters to this story? I'd like to see the rest of Ala Alba."

I don't think we'll be seeing anyone else; remember, the rest of Negi's class is in school right now.

A small note:

Blaise Zabini, in this story, is nicer than his canon counterpart. However, he's still a Slytherin at heart and prejudiced towards those of impure blood. But I'd like to think that he's a bit ashamed of the fact that his mother is…extremely good at inheriting the vast fortunes of conveniently dead people.

Another note:

In case you have not noticed, yes, Saturday is apparently a school day. Y'see, Hogwarts always has a school day the day after everyone arrives. During Harry's school years, that day always fell on a weekday, but in this messed up timeline it would fall on a Saturday…so I am operating on the assumption that in these kinds of cases, they have school on Saturday, but take Sunday off.

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><p>August 27, 2003<br>Saturday 8:18 AM  
>Outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom<p>

At the door of Umbridge's classroom, Negi's group was greeted by the sight of several early arrived 5th year Slytherins lounging about the entrance waiting for the professor to unlock the doors. They stared suspiciously at the unfamiliar students, curious about their presence, but unwilling to actually engage in conversation. Well, that is, until a dark skinned boy stepped up towards them, having recognized Fate from breakfast.

He looked at Fate for a moment, but then addressed Negi, who seemed to be the natural leader of the three. "Not to be rude, but can I assume that you're transfers? I've never seen you at Hogwarts before," he questioned, then adding as an addendum, "I'm Blaise Zabini, of the Slytherin house. You can call me by my last name."

"No, I'm afraid that we're not transfer students, just visiting for this weekend," answered Negi, who then reintroduced himself, Asuna and Fate.

At the mention of Negi's last name, Springfield, Zabini furrowed his eyebrows, attempting to remember whether or not it was related to any pureblood families. He'd certainly heard of the name before… Then the realization hit him. Addressing the short redheaded boy, he asked, "Are you by any chance related to Nagi Springfield, who married Arika Entheofushia of Vespertatia?"

"Yes, in fact, he's my father. But how do you know about him and my mother?" Negi was surprised that a wizard, and a teenaged one at that, would know about the royal families of Mundus Magicus. After all, those who practiced wizardry tended to ignore those who used different types of magic, preferring to keep to themselves. So intent were they on isolating themselves from outside influences that they never learned how to operate modern electronics (then again, their magic did tend to disrupt electrical currents), and some couldn't even wear muggle clothes correctly.

"Well, one of my fathers," Zabini looked uncomfortable for a moment, "He was from Megalomesembria, so I know a bit about the Magical World on Mars."

Asuna looked at him curiously. "Um, what do you mean by one of them?" she asked.

"What, would you like to know? I can tell you if you want," came a voice several meters behind them. The four turned towards the sound, Zabini scowling at the new figure, who was followed by two rather slow, both in body and mind, looking students.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Zabini said.

Negi looked concerned by the sudden entrance of the arrogant looking boy, while Asuna turned down his offer of information with a quick "No, that's alright. Really." Realizing that she'd asked without thinking, she offered an apologetic look towards Zabini.

The blond boy sneered at the newcomers, and his eyes lit upon Fate, whom he immediately baited, saying, "Hey, aren't you the brat who was stealing drinks from our table? And didn't you get dragged back by her?" He motioned towards Asuna, who was already frowning in dislike, and added towards both Negi and Fate, "Is she your babysitter or something? What're children doing here in Hogwarts anyways?"

Fate's eyes narrowed, but before he could open his mouth to reply with whatever sharp response he had come up with, Draco had already continued on with his prattling. "I heard that they gave you guys special permission to come to Hogwarts, even though you're not even wizards. I can't believe it, what was Dumbledore thinking, inviting you people into the school? What's next? Muggles?"

At this comment, Negi and Asuna sweatdropped; wasn't that exactly what was happening in Ayaka's case?

Oblivious to the fact that his new acquaintances also maintained friendly relations with muggles, Zabini chose to defend them against Malfoy, whom he disliked. He scoffed and pointed at Negi and said, "Malfoy, wizard or not, his bloodline is far more superior than yours will ever be."

Negi quickly put his hands up, denying having any sort of superiority, but Malfoy still looked stung by the comment and snapped back at Asuna and Fate, "Then what about you two?"

"What does my family have to do with anything?" Asuna replied, crossing her arms angrily. "And if you must know, I'm related to Negi." Annoyed by Malfoy's behavior, she stepped away from him and his two followers, towing the two other boys with her.

By this time, most of the class had arrived, along with Umbridge who bustled up to the mahogany doors to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Digging inside her pink cardigan's pocket, she removed a key ring decorated with what seemed to be a bunch of cute kitty cats.

Asuna had to squint in order to confirm that she was not suffering from some sort of hallucination, a motion repeated by Negi himself and many of the surrounding Slytherins. Opening the doors, then Umbridge walked to the teacher's desk and sat down facing the student with a sugary smile, waiting for her students to seat themselves. Upon spotting Negi, Asuna, and Fate, who were not wearing Slytherin robes, her face exhibited a moment of confusion.

"Dears, might I ask if you are in the wrong class?" she beamed towards the three, greeting them as if they were lost children.

Negi responded quickly, carefully choosing his phrasing of words in order to make a neutral first impression. "Oh no, we're not lost, Professor. We're only going to be staying here over the weekend, so would it be too much of a bother if we sat in for one of your classes? Of course, we don't have personal copies of the textbooks, do you mind if we temporarily borrow a school copy today?"

"Oh no, not at all," came again sweetly, "I'm afraid that two of you will have to share though." Reaching under her desk, she pulled out two copies of _Defensive Magical Theory_ and handed them over to Negi, who thanked her politely and went to sit down with Asuna and Fate.

After the students had completely settled down, Umbridge stood up, surveying the rows of her students.

"Good morning, class!" she said expectantly, waiting for a reply.

"Good morning," came the replies of sleepy and bored Slytherins. Just because she was a campaigner for pureblood supremacy didn't mean that they were going to pay attention in class. They were, after all, teenaged students.

Umbridge looked a bit put out by the less than enthusiastic response. "I'd like you all to respond, 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge' whenever class starts. Now then, let's try again. Good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge," was parroted back, this time with a slightly louder tone. In the corner where the three unusual students sat, Fate could be seen with an expression of absolute boredom, not even bothering to reply to her class summons.

Whispering to whom he shared a book with, he said, "Negi, are you sure that this Umbridge woman is human? I would more readily believe if she were a half-amphibian hybrid."

"Well, now that you mention it, Professor Umbridge does kind of look like a toad…", came Negi's quiet reply. He appeared to be seriously analyzing Fate's disparaging comment.

Asuna, sitting behind the two, hit them both on the head, hissing, "Even if she does look weird, we're not here to be rude. Anyways, pay attention! She's writing something on the blackboard."

Umbridge had at this point instructed them to read Chapter One of Slinkhard's textbook in silence; this was apparently all that they were going to do in class for the day. Asuna, who after several pages still had no idea what the author was trying to argue or what the terms he used meant, settled for watching the classroom's occupants. While Negi and Fate burned through the pages with lightning speed (damn geniuses and their photographic memory, thought Asuna), the rest of the class seemed to be incredibly put off by the long winded paragraphs but continued to plow through.

Negi and Fate finished the hundred page plus chapter in less than half an hour, and with nothing to do, Negi pulled out his _Hogwarts, a History_ and flipped to his bookmark. Fate, left to his own, intentionally stared at Umbridge with his trademark deadpan expression, fishing for some sort of reaction.

Umbridge ignored his expressionless gaze for a few minutes, then turned around, smiling widely. "Is there something wrong, Mr.-?" she queried.

"Averruncus," was all that Fate said.

"Yes, and is there something wrong?" Umbridge repeated.

"I have already finished the reading material. Also, your style of teaching is extremely ineffective."

Negi facepalmed and tried to save the situation from sure diplomatic disaster, with "I'm sorry Professor, Fate can be rather critical at times. I wouldn't mind him." He gave a pointed look at Fate, which the white haired boy ignored.

"No, it's alright, dear," Umbridge simpered, and then returned her gaze to Fate. "Now then, Mr. Averruncus, I understand that you may have doubts about my teaching strategies, but I assure you that they are only the best. I cannot imagine that you are at the level of a Ministry-trained expert in magical education."

Fate looked unimpressed and replied, "Obviously I am not; I don't live in England. I am, however, a school board certified teacher at Japan's Mahora University and its surrounding campuses. And so is Negi Springfield."

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><p>That's it for chapter 4! Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, and don't forget to point out mistakes if you see any!<p>

Next chapter-expect more of Fate trolling. Although, if you ask me, anymore of this is going to get him into detention. Hm...does he even have blood though?


End file.
